ONE HOT RIDE
2005 HONDA CBR600RR
Story by Tom Van Beveren
Photos courtesy American Honda

It seems like only yesterday we were wringing the heck out of Honda’s then brand-new 2003 CBR600RR on the infield track at Las Vegas Speedway, having the time of our lives being treated like factory racers on the latest track weaponry Honda had to offer.
That fun day was almost two years ago but the memory of all that fun lingered on, so, when Free 2 Wheel was asked to review the newest little CBR-RR that Big Red had to offer, we jumped at the chance.
There was no track time on the new model--our racer’s world experience had been traded for a real-world blitz on the blacktop of the Santa Monica Mountains. We were a bit disappointed to miss out on the chance to enjoy a little free track time but perhaps it was for the best. Years of experience have taught us that good track bikes don’t always make good street bikes, and a day spent testing on local streets tells us a lot more about how average street-riding readers would enjoy a motorcycle than lapping a track at supersonic speeds.
And, we’re happy to report, this day’s blitzing through the coastal Los Angeles mountains was every bit as enjoyable as our memories of track riding a CBR. And way more relevant. I mean, really--tell the truth. How many people buy a race bike solely for the racetrack? There are just too many cool roads in southern California to restrict yourself to the confines of a track and, while track days are plentiful in our area, they do require time set aside from a normal schedule and some thoughtful planning, often months in advance. And quite a bit of extra cash. A quick sprint through the twisties after the end of a long, tiring workday can be an invigorating respite and doesn’t require any planning. And it is especially rewarding when you’re straddling a truly cool bike like the RR

Interview:

WHAT GOES AROUND
MEET RACER/PROMOTER GENE ROMERO
Story by Anne Van Beveren
Photos courtesy Gene Romero

Gene Romero has been around.
He went around and around the track as a racer in his younger days, then he went around the U.S. with Honda helping other racers, like Ricky Graham, win an AMA Grand National Dirt Track Series title. He went around promoting racing at Ascot back in its hey day, and then he got around to running races of his own.
Today, this been-there-done-that motorcycle guy is the talent behind Gene Romero’s West Coast Flat Track Series, but that doesn’t mean he’s come full circle. With Romero, there’s always the possibility of one more twist.
“I figure I’m going to retire in about another 40 years and I’m older than dirt now,” he told Free 2 Wheel, with a chuckle. “I’ve got so much left to do.”
Romero’s grand tour of life began in his hometown of San Luis Obispo, but his motorcycling roots are in Hollister, at the home of his grandparents.
“There was a guy out there that grew up with my dad and, when we’d go there, he always came by on a motorcycle to visit. We were way out in the country, with orchards and vineyards and, when he left, you could hear him two miles away, heading out, wide open all the way,” said Romero. “He had really good Triumphs, and he was pretty cool to me. He used to wear his cap backwards way back then, before it was the thing to do. He’d come by San Luis Obispo with his bikes, too. He would be drag racing one time, riding scrambles the next. He was a good hill climber, as well.”

Ask the Sergeant:

Dear Sergeant:

I have a couple of questions for you and both of them deal with slow moving vehicles.
My buddies and I like to ride the canyons from Mulholland to the Pacific Coast Highway. I won’t say we speed but we definitely take it to the legal posted limit.
It happens almost every Sunday that a group of us will be riding over the canyons at a spirited pace when we come upon a car driving 10 to 25 miles per hour below the posted limit, just taking its time sightseeing. Isn’t there some law that requires this guy to either speed up or get out of our way? Almost all of those canyon roads have solid double yellow centerlines and you know we would be cited in a hot second if we passed the guy that’s holding us up.
My second question has to do with the same problem on the freeway. It drives me crazy on a two-lane freeway when there is a slow-moving truck in the right lane and some clown in the left lane next to the truck just putzing along at the same speed. In no time at all there are a hundred cars backed up behind the guy and I am not always comfortable splitting between them.
Okay, now that I have vented, what does the law say about situations like these?

Richard Hart, Woodland Hills

This is a very frustrating situation that we have all experienced at one time or another.
Let’s look at your first situation. Section 22400(a) of the California Vehicle Code regulates slow moving vehicles and minimum speeds on a two-lane (one lane in each direction) roadway. It states that, “No person shall drive upon a highway at such a slow speed as to impede or block the normal and reasonable movement of traffic, unless the reduced speed is necessary for safe operation, because of a grade, or in compliance with the law.” Make note of the word “reasonable” because it has significance to your second (freeway) question.

Project bike story:

HOT-ROD TRIUMPH
BUILDING THE BIKE OF LEGENDS
Story and photos by Nick Voge

Revelations tend to occur at the least expected times, perhaps because it is only when the mind is totally relaxed that clear thinking is possible.
My epiphany occurred at a used bookstore when I came across a copy of Lindsay Brooke’s excellent narrative, Triumph Racing Motorcycles in America. There, roaring off the pages in timeless black and white, was Gene Romero leading the pack off turn two at the Sacramento Mile on his 750 Trackmaster Triumph; Gary Scott on his short-rod 750 under the lights at Ascot; Skip Van Leeuwen on a stock-frame Bonnie, feet up, full-lock and full throttle at the Tulare TT.
You fool, was all I could mutter, how could you not have a Bonneville? Which was a strange thing to ask, because I did have one. Two, actually, both rotting in my backyard long after some unknown heroes of yore had flogged the best years out of them in the Mojave Desert.
Desert sleds they were, the original dirt bikes, picked up for a few hundred bucks from a friend suffering from what are now euphemistically called “substance abuse problems,” and dumped behind the house where the rats live. It isn’t hard to imagine what it must have been like in their hey day: hundreds of 650 Triumphs with straight pipes thundering at full whack fast and free across the open desert, bouncing off pucker bushes and spitting out vicious streams of rocks and sand from wildly spinning rear tires. It makes the hair at the back of your neck stand on end just thinking about it!
Once enlightened, my mission was clear. A conventional restoration was out of the question--first, because there is no shortage of perfectly restored Bonnies and second, because the bikes were missing all of their road-going equipment (strewn across the Lucerne Valley, no doubt). This left me free to build a TT-style hot-rod—or, in the modern vernacular: Supermotard, ‘60’s style.

Way2go

ON A ROLL
EXPLORE THE BACKROADS
Story and photos by Anne Van Beveren

Rolling terrain, rolling wheels and, just maybe, the occasional roll of the dice.
That’s what’s in store as we hit the highway for an afternoon of California’s most varied terrain—a run from the warm deserts of Palm Springs, across the craggy San Jacinto mountains and on through rolling grassland to Escondido.
Top up your tank on the desert floor, then head to the start of the adventure—the intersection of Highway 111 and Highway 74 in Palm Desert, just a little east of downtown Palm Springs. Zero your odometer, then head for the hills on Highway 74, one of the steepest, twistiest and most scenic (if you get a chance to take your eyes off the road) ribbons of highway we know. Any stretch of highway that starts with the warning “Sharp curves next 44 miles” has got to be a winner.
Relax and start to breathe mountain air as the road snakes up the hill, doubling back on itself in hairpin turns, double yellow all the way. The first 10 miles are intense—left, right, left, right, and even when the curves begin to open up, the climbing goes on. You hit the 3,000-foot mark just 10 miles into the ride and you’re still clawing for altitude.
Keep an eye on your odometer and be ready to turn off just before it shows 15 miles. On the right is the local fire station; on the left is lunch at the SugarLoaf Café, a favorite of locals in the know. This is a laid-back establishment, with a fireplace that throws warmth on a chilly day, comfy chairs just off the lobby, and black-and-white photos by a local artist lining the walls. Audacious hogs, long-lashed llamas and local townspeople with character-lined faces share your lunch with you, and a very good lunch it is. There is everything from soup to nuts, and the price is right. Take a patty melt at $6.95, for example. The café is open for breakfast from 8 until noon on weekends and, if you’re in the mood, they do dinner from 3 to 7.45 p.m., wine list, live music ‘n all.